Need midwife's advice - re: 20 week ultrasound scan

[GeorginaA]

I'm hoping someone on mumsnet can help. I've just been told the radiology department have "withdrawn the service" of the 20 week ultrasound scans, presumably until further notice. Apparently due to illness they can no longer cope with demand and they can't get through all the cancer patients. So pregnant mums no longer have this scan in our area.

Eventually they will get themselves sorted out and have a protocol for which high risk pregnancies will still get scans (which I wouldn't be anyway). Their reasoning is that they wouldn't pick up much at that scan anyway so it isn't "important" (it's not?! It's the only damn diagnostic test I'm having ffs!)

The midwife has also tried to put me off going privately saying there's a danger for what they look for and that they might not be accredited and look too long and damage the foetus!

So I'm really upset now and don't know what to do. I was so looking forward to that scan and had planned to take ds along with us to see the new baby and find out whether it was a brother or sister, and I was looking forward to the reassurance. I just don't know whether to start looking into a private scan or not and now I'm really confused what questions I should be asking if I do look for a private scan.

So this is a plea for information really. Should I go for a private scan? How much are they likely to be? What sort of questions should I be asking and am I really putting my baby in more risk by going for an ultrasound privately?

I went for a scan 'privately' at 14 weeks as I was worried about something. It was in Harley St and cost 100.00. I got the number out of the Yellow Pages.

I think the 20 week scan is a good thing as they look for length of arms/legs, heart chambers, stomach and not sure what else but I am sure mears can tell you. It's also nice as you say to see the baby specially for dp/dh/other children.

Thank you all for such helpful information and support. I went in for my dating scan today (woo hoo ... I wasn't imagining being pregnant, after all!) and while I was there, the midwife told me that there's been a new announcement as of this morning.

They're drafting in extra doctors to assist the sonographers to get through the workload and will be giving all women their 20 week scans on a risk-priority basis, fitting them in around the cancer patients. As a result we may get very short notice of the scan.

I am feeling so utterly, utterly relieved.

Oh, and baby waved. I'm in love

I have just had a thought here. Why is a dating scan so important if there is a problem regarding the 20 weeks scan. It would make more sense to stop scanning for women who are sure of their last period and who have had no complications such as pain or bleeding. It used to make me mad that the ultrasonographer would argue due date by a day when I was completely sure of my dates. Then they could concentrate resources on the more important anomaly scan since the service is under pressure.

Because we don't get a sonographer for the dating scan - the midwives do it. It's very odd. I wasn't offered a dating scan in Croydon at all (although I could have been referred to a different hospital for a nuchal fold, but I chose not to).

Totally agree with mears that you would have thought dating scans were less of a priority in most cases. And also agree with the messing with dates which they did with me big time last pregnancy.

GeorginaA I know you might well get your scan now but my midwife gave me the number of the consultant at the University Hospital in Cardiff where they have a Fetal Medical department (I'm sure it's called something posher than that). Cardiff isn't a million miles from Worcester. She gave me the number as thats where they do the (private) nuchal scans. It reassured me to know that the private scans are actually done by the pukka NHS consultants. Like others on here I seem to have more trust in the NHS people than the private people.

I know this department as I had a fetal cardiac scan in my first pregnancy (on the NHS) and they were absolutely brilliant. It's amazing the difference between areas. I had 6 scans in my first pregnancy (considered medium risk) and have not been told it will be any different this time. I agree with you that even tho scans sometimes do throw up things in a misleading manner, the reassurance of seeing your baby is enormous.

Glad all went well GeorginaA, how did the scan date compare to your dates? When they did my dating scan they had my due date 2 weeks earlier than mine. DD was born 1 day after my date.

I had a look on the trust's website earlier today and they're advertising for bank ultrasonographers.

dinosaur- you had a very similar experience to my friend, they picked up club feet at her anomoly scan and then started banging on about chromosome disorders (although there were no other signs). In the end her baby was born with talipes- nothing else, all sorted now. With her second ds she had the nuchal and came back high risk for DS. She refused an amnio as she would have kept the baby anyway but was put under a lot of pressure to have one. She was given further scans which came back clear and her ds was absolutely fine. She said if she's pregnant again she won't have any scans as they have completely ruined both pregnancies.

And how horrific to be told your baby may have Edwards's syndrome. Doesn't bear thinking about.

My hospital did not do 20 week scans when I was pregnant with DD (now 19 months) either. Instead we had a scan at about 14 weeks. I know that some of the diagnostic checks couldn't be done as it was too early. The hospital would also not do sexing either. Apparantly they have now introduced both things.

Ailsa - not too bad really - 3 days later than the date out of the book. My brain's fried so I can't work out if that would fit with my knowledge that I tend to ovulate "late" (16th day) if Persona is telling me right... but to be honest, it's so close that it's hardly worth worrying about. I'm sure baby will arrive when baby wants to arrive!

Yes it does fit Georgina. If you ovulate two days late (day16 as opposed to 14), you will probably have conceived two days later and so EDD should be 2 days later so 3 days later is pretty close. But as you said it all depends what baby thinks!